


Let's Not Talk About the Other Night

by flannery_culp



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: (but not sexually), F/F, Mommy Issues, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-26 23:58:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9934943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannery_culp/pseuds/flannery_culp
Summary: After their interaction with Chuck, Veronica is concerned about Betty, but Betty isn't sure how much she wants to talk about. There's a lot of things she isn't sure about when it comes to Veronica.





	

Betty drummed her fingertips on the tabletop, waiting for Veronica to come back and hoping that they wouldn't run into anyone. The last thing that she needed tonight was for Archie and Jughead to show up and try to join them.

“One strawberry milkshake,” Veronica said, too close to Betty’s ear as she breezed past her. She was already gone by the time Betty turned her head, sliding into the booth across from her. “Fries are coming soon. On the house. My mother insisted.”

“That's nice of her,” Betty said, stirring her milkshake so that she would have something to do with her hands.

She knew that the night with Chuck was going to come up. Veronica had been kindly avoiding the subject, but she wasn't one to leave something like that alone forever.

“You know, it's much more enjoyable if you use the spoon to eat the milkshake rather than just stir it around,” Veronica said. She kept eye contact with Betty as she took a slow sip of her root beer float. Betty looked down, knowing that Veronica would be able to tell what she was thinking if she looked for too long.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Veronica said. Apparently Betty’s attempts hadn’t worked.

“Didn’t we talk about it enough yesterday?” Betty asked.

“You made it pretty clear that’s how you felt,” Veronica said. “But you’ve been acting strange ever since then, and I’m starting to get concerned.”

“Everything’s fine,” Betty said. “I just… got a little too far into character. I’m fine now.”

“It was quite a character choice,” Veronica said.

Just as Betty was trying to figure out how to respond, Veronica’s mother came by with their fries. “Here you go girls,” she said, placing the basket on the table. “Anything else I can get for you?”

“I’m good,” Veronica said. “Betty?” Betty shook her head. “Thanks, Mom.” Veronica smiled, biting into a fry.

“Of course, honey,” her mother said. “Let me know if I can do anything else for you.” Betty watched as she gave Veronica a quick kiss on the forehead before returning to the counter. Betty couldn’t imagine something like that with her mother. She would never have purposefully spent time somewhere that her mother would be, let alone actually interact with her there. But then again, if it had been her mother, the interaction would have been very different.

“Look,” Veronica said, taking Betty’s hand. That was another thing that Betty never would have done in front of her mother, for fear that it would be misinterpreted. Or correctly interpreted, if she was being honest with herself. “I just want to make sure that you’re okay. That was a really intense situation, and it’s okay if it got to you. But I… you weren’t yourself last night, Betty. And if you’re not back to yourself…”

Betty sighed, pulled her hand away, and then put it back. It would keep her from digging her nails into her palms. Of course, holding hands with Veronica posed other dangers.

“You’re right,” Betty said. “It was really intense.”

How much was she supposed to tell her? She and Veronica had already gotten so close, it was easy to forget that they only just met. Was she really ready to let her in on all of her secrets? Was she ready for Veronica to know how fucked up she was? Or did she have to keep some things hidden if there was any hope of something happening between them?

And then there was the problem that that hope was creating. It seemed so trivial, on top of everything else, but it wasn’t something that she could ignore. She could feel Veronica pulling on her; feel the way that she looked at her and the way that electricity jumped between their fingers. Especially last night, before things had really started. She had seen Veronica’s face when she had first walked into the pool room. That was a look that couldn’t be mistaken. She knew that there was something there, she just didn’t have a strong enough grasp on it.

Veronica seemed to have it all together. She had lived a glamorous life in New York, and she still had the clothes and the confidence to prove it. She had a good relationship with her mother. Her life had been flipped upside down and even that hadn’t derailed her. There was no way that she could understand what it had been like to grow up in Riverdale, and to watch what her sister had gone through. To live with her mother. To pine away after someone.

Veronica could have anything she wanted, and it seemed like she wanted Betty. How in hell could Betty do something to jeopardize that?

“I’m fine, now,” Betty said, taking a sip of her milkshake as if that might prove it. “And I know you want to talk about it, but I would really rather we didn’t.” Veronica raised her eyebrows. Betty sighed. How was she supposed to say no to her? “Not here, at least. Not in public.”

Veronica smiled, a small but significant smile. “I can live with that,” she said. “Maybe tomorrow. We should get you out of here soon anyway. You seem exhausted.”

Betty took another sip of her milkshake, suddenly self-conscious about the bags under her eyes. “I don’t want to go home,” she said. “Let’s stay here for awhile.”

“Did you sleep last night?” Veronica asked.

Betty shook her head. She could feel the tears in the back of her throat before they came to her eyes. “Please don’t make me go back home alone tonight,” she said, worried that if she spoke too loud her voice would shake and betray her.

Veronica nodded. “Alright,” she said. “Of course. You’re welcome to come to my house. Or I’ll stay at your house with you. Whatever you need.”

Her foot grazed against Betty’s leg underneath the table. It was the kind of thing that could easily have been a mistake, or at the very least passed off as one. “It’s okay,” she said. For a second Betty saw something flash across her face. Maybe it was understanding. Or maybe it was just sympathy. It was hard to tell. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me to.”

“Promise?” Betty asked.

Veronica took both of Betty’s hands in hers, running the tips of her thumbs along Betty’s palms. “Promise.”


End file.
